Amazing are the experiences that one shares, and valued are the feelings that one confines within his work of art. An artist is a social butterfly that rests on the softest cushions until its fill, then puts up a pile that people love to devour. His mental eye peeps down his spine to extract the honey from his petals, which in reciprocity serves a literary class for the intention that such melodiousness either takes the form of verse or re-counts a subtle understanding called poetry. A poem hides a treasure beneath its flow, and when it reaches the appropriate ears, the rhythm in human hearts is elicited to launch an expedition to the depths of the bard’s consciousness. The poem ‘SiyahVar’ by Dr. Satish Vimal, a multilingual poet, is an admirable specimen of one’s inward journey to explore the gorges of darkness. The poet has passed through the annals of hitherto unexplored recesses of his extreme fondness, which to mystics is a ‘Backward Journey’ to move ‘Forward’ in his search for truth. Dr. Satish Vimal’s poetry is a synthesis of spiritual experiences and genuine facts. He has plunged into the dense darkness to find the light and his journey is not merely based on a set of rules, but the context of his expedition is highly acceptable for the reason that his experiences are like those of other mystic poets, both a metaphoric treasure and a personal saga of melees. The pathway leading to destiny is generally pleasurable, but the ordeal that Dr. Satish Vimal has focused on in the poem is a delight to read. To put one’s personal experience on the skin of the society, there are two dangers that a daring bard willingly accepts as a title: the first is that it shakes orthodox religiosity, and the second is that it emboldens a free thinker to experiment at the expense of his own scripts, which he piles up under the guise of wisdom and self-styled tot ups. To explore darkness is an uphill task as described in the poem, it is an unremitting exertion of wits to conquer wilderness. To fall in love with darkness, one has to shun the light that creates an illusion for the mystic darkness is the only light that shines and shuns illusions as Nietzsche says: “Beware of being a slave to the light!”
Sable Vale
To top up my eyes, he set alight the candles
only to step up the belief to take in
the well watched over traces in my eyes
I let the doors wide-open and
he wedged the framed jiffy bag of sketches
and hastily exited
to stub out the candles and vanished
At the dread of my vacant eyes
the quivering senses kicked off to track down
on my hands and finger tips, the imprints
of my treasured halos
and by a sheer touch they untangled their loops
and as free curls they were tangled in a tress,
the hands were put on hold,
the spell of pen messed up the matters
and the ways put on an appalling getup
an uncanny situation wrapped up the day
My ignorance encountered with the sable
night lonely
only to strive for the darkness
and into the profound depths and horizons of outlines
I kept envisaging that in reciprocity took fresh
unfathomable and infinite forms
and the expedition of murky estimations
continued
for the reason that neither the illusion of light nor the ruse of the eyes
I could only witness Surdas’s ecstatic outlooks
in a state of whirling, singing and resonating
in submission
and I in the frames of alike inklings blocked
up the down truth
and turned the eyes into kohl,
as courtesy, I picked up the darkness
and this film of the fog, this spectrum, resonated
with the same resonance (I) draped the
entire milieu
leading to the resolution of matters
and the paths turned exuberant.
The poem is a play with two characters, Light and Darkness, who represent the natural marvels of chaos and order, respectively. As stated in the poem, darkness denotes a mystic world and a source of illumination, whereas light represents intellectual knowledge. When a guru lights up the eyes of a disciple, his purpose is to invoke his darkness, which in turn follows the route leading him to an unfathomable source of light, which secures his existence as a part of the cosmos. The poet has used darkness to dissolve all kinds of forms that a mind might place on the canvas of sensations, which he then attempts to decode through the five senses. This decoding adds to the confusion and widens the gap of ignorance. The light must embrace the darkness, which broadens the senses’ vistas until nadir gorges are discovered, and be replaced with the finest available source to envelop the ignorance, which functions as an open opponent.The poet has genuinely put forth his ignorance to permit it to be confronted with reality, and he has stimulated his intellect to introspect only to translate the blackness as a module of great learning.
Illusions, as indicated in the poem, have been metaphorically compared to a tress of hair that holds nothing but its own tangled bunch, and with every unwinding, each follicle is unknotted to get straightened and strengthened.Thus, the poet, like all verifiers, has used the delicate tool of metaphors to let his experience reveal the purpose. The flow of the poem is gentle and moves like a stream, leaving behind traces of wisdom. The style and diction that have been employed befit the theme and mood of the poem. A black verse poem of this nature best serves the bard, for he finds a way, like a brook, to nourish the needs of the things dwelling in its vicinage.
Dr. SatishVimal’s writing style is honest and unique. His Kashmiri and Hindi nazms are filled with insight and mystic experiences. His studies and subjects are energizing, like a morning breeze that entices poetry lovers to throw open their doors and let the aroma reach their vital centers. His novels have inspired many aspiring authors to relate their anecdotal experiences. His metaphors are as fresh as dew droplets, and his idiom belongs to his place, which he has kept and polished using a chisel of seriousness. His writing ability has allowed him to refine his distinctive style, which he is passing down to future generations who are ready to continue this genre in Kashmiri. He is a prominent figure in literary circles and holds a loud presence among his contemporaries. ABOUT THE TRANSLATOR
Mushtaq B.Barq is a Columnist, Poet and Fiction Writer. He is the author of “Feeble prisoner, “ Wings of Love” and many translation works are credited to the author like “ Verses Of Wahab
ABOUT THE REVIEWER
Mushtaq B.Barq is a Columnist, Poet and Fiction Writer. He is the author of “Feeble prisoner, “ Wings of Love” and many translation works are credited to the author like “ Verses Of Wahab
